lucky. Fellas behind used the open space to move up and pretty soon there was a bunch of bunkers that wasn't shootin at us no more.

Fool's luck ran out, though, and a laser creased his back and burned right through the armor.

There wasn't but a handful of guys left and most of us hunkered down in some cleared bunkers. The Bluecoats tried to get at us through their supply tunnels but we just turned them lasers around and pointed them right down the tunnels. Bluecoats burns just as good as Terran Marines.

Evac finally showed up, with armor and air. That fool who led the charge up the hill was in one of the bunkers where the Bluecoats was pushing real hard. Told his buddies to get and lay there pointing that laser down the tunnel. Finally two guys in battle armor came in and hauled him out to the evac.

Well, fellas, was that worth two beers? Thank you, but two's my limit. This damn chair, ya know.

The young Marines watched the old woman in the handichair glide out of the bar, a Terran Marine flag taped to the back of her seat. One of them asked the barmaid about the oldtimer.

Her? Don't they teach you boys how to read these days?

The barmaid pointed to the wall, covered in Marine memorabilia, and then walked over and tapped one of the pictures hanging there.

It was a young woman, wearing private's stripes, and below it the caption read:

The President of the Terran Union in the name of The Congress takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to

Private Lorili Gibson
Terran Marines

for service as set forth in the following

CITATION:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of her life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a Cook, Headquarters Company, Thirty Fourth Battalion, First Marine Division (Planetary Assault), on 21 July 2184.

Private Gibson's battalion was moving by truck to the front on Gemma Aquilon, near the town of Suzu, when it was ambushed by a large force of enemy troops in concealed bunkers and well equipped with high energy weapons.

Gibson found herself dismounted and under heavy fire in a ditch alongside Route Angel, with many of her fellow Marines who survived the initial attack. Seeing that the only way to end the ambush was to attack the bunkers firing on her fellow Marines, Private Gibson began to crawl up the hill using what little concealment that there was. When she reached the first bunker, and still under heavy direct fire, she was able to throw a grenade into the bunker silencing its occupants.

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